New Year Puja, Kalwa (India),  January 1st, 1991

Translation from Hindi

Today we are going to perform a Puja in a place close to Bombay.

The name of Bombay used to be Mumbai. This name is made of three words: Mum, Amba, and Aayee. In Maharashtriyan or Marathi language we address Mother as Aayee. Even in the Vedas, Adi Shakti is referred to as Ee. So, the reflection of Adi Shakti is Aayee. That is why Mother is called as Aayee. Also, in many places, she is also called as "Ma", Therefore the first sound has come from the word "mum". And Amba, as you all know, is verily the Kundalini. So this Trigunatmika is three words. And in Mumbai also, you know that, there is a beautiful temple of all the three Shaktis, Mahalakshmi, Mahasaraswati, Mahakali, from where these three Devis have emerged from Mother Earth.

Although, a lot of illicit activities are done by people here, but still these three Devis are in an awakened state here. So, especially the people of Mumbai, should understand that these three Devis" swayambhu have not manifested together anywhere else; As you already know in Mahurgadh there is Mahasaraswati; And in Tuljapur there is Bhavani (Shri Mahakali), and in Kolhapur there is Mahalakshmi. And in Wani is the half syllable (Ardhmatra), whom we call as Adi Shakti. But here, all the three Murtis (swayambhu) are awakened. But where there is the most hard work done, and where the divine work is done the most by chaitanya, the purpose of this sometimes is that in those places there are very big negativities, so there is some meaning behind. And for the destruction of these negative forces manifestation of such swayambhus takes place. For example, in the Arabic countries, Zoroasther took birth five times, and later many Adi Gurus took birth, like Abraham, Moses, then last of all Mohammed Sahib also took birth there. Because it was very much needed, that's why these Gurus took birth there and accomplished some work. But regarding Mumbai, it is said, that the people here must have lived a life of over abundance, from the beginning. There is a story of a boy called Pundarikaksh, Pundaric brought his father and mother to Mumbai.

He was taking his parents on two baskets balanced on a beam, to a pilgrimage. Both were old. And when he was going to the pilgrimage, he thought, Mumbai seems to be a nice place, so let me rest here for few minutes. So, when he stopped there - the chaitanya of this place being completely destroyed because of the materialistic lifestyle of people - He began to think: "Why am I taking my parents on a pilgrimage? Why should I do it? What will I gain from this?". Because people who are materialistic always think what will be their material benefit. He thought: "What will I gain? My back is already aching. Where shall I take them?".

So he told his parents that they would have to fend for themselves, as it was not possible for him to go any further. So, the parents began to wonder what was wrong? Also, they felt that the vibrations of this city were not good, So they said, “Alright. We will find our own way, but you just take us out of this city Mumbai. Take us out of the city, and then we will go on our own. First, we will just visit Mumbai city, then you can take us out". He agreed, thinking that let me leave them out of the city and then I will have no more headache. And then he went to leave them outside of the city. And when he was on the way to leave them, he was feeling tired and he kept thinking "What a nuisance I have taken upon myself. How will I take them till there?

What's the purpose? And my whole body is in pain and is aching". And the moment they were out of the city, he started feeling alright. Perhaps, they must have reached Kalwe. Because Kalwe is outside of Mumbai, fortunately! But, when he came out, he couldn't understand from where he got so much strength and power And suddenly he had a change of heart. He apologised to his parents, and he said: "I do not know from where such thoughts came into my mind. Please forgive me". I will fulfil my sacred duty and I'll take you further on this pilgrimage”. And here as you all know, there are two lakes.

And one's name is... One it is called Pampa, Pampa lake, as it is described (in the scriptures) The second one also has been mentioned in the story of Shri Rama. This means that Shri Rama before He went to Dandakaranya, He came to this place, and He vibrated the whole Dandakaranya by spreading a lot of Chaitanya. Besides this, in Maharashtra, a lot of work was done and many saints were born. And these saints though they were troubled a lot, still they kept coming again and again, And because of these saints a very great thing happened, that people started taking interest in dharma and spirituality. But even then, there must have been some negativity here, because the ashta vinayak and the three-and-a-half peethas emerged here, and apart from this, there is the manifestation of the three aspects of the Devi particularly in Bombay, indicates that there must have been some great negativity here, that is why such hard work had to be done here. And I was also born in Maharashtra. So, one must reflect on, what is the reason, what kind of shortcoming is here, in Maharashtra. It is very important for the people of Bombay to think about it. First, there is a lot of materialism here. The English came here, and taught English culture and English style, and people became materialistic.

Whatever they taught the Mumbai people, caused their attention to wander outside. The English stayed here for a long time and they also liked Mumbai. Later, through the sea routes, the Portugese came, and many others came and left their influence here. As a result the materialism increased here. So from the beginning, the people here were very materialistic, and now they became even more materialistic. Now there is a lot of materialism in the people of Mumbai. And so, even after coming to Sahaja Yoga, sometimes materialism is still sticking on to them. And because of this materialism, their spiritual ascent is not as much as other people. This is very surprising! Even after all the hard work in Maharashtra, I feel, I could not do as much work here as I did in North India.

The number of people here did not grow as much as in North India. The only reason is that we still have a kind of inertia in us. Even for religion there is attachment. Even now here there are so many fake gurus, which I think are not there in North India, because they were not encouraged. And those people who are materialistic here, they like those fake gurus who are tantriks and who can help them to cause distress to others. Thirdly, there are a lot of false gurus, who have also caught hold of materialistic people and have taught them that it is alright, one just has to take the name of God, and one can live anyhow or just meditate. But towards their disciples these gurus lacked a strong desire that something good should happen to them and they should benefit, this kind of desire is not these gurus' heart. Some of them might not be false gurus, but even so they don't think what they've given to their followers? "They have served me so much, taken have taken so much care of me, but what have I given them?" Hence with the prevailing system here, these people somehow fit in.

Then the fourth type which I see here is, is particularly among brahmins. It is very surprising that they once used to fight that there should be no caste system; many brahmins have worked hard, that women should marry and widows should re-marry; A lot of work has been done by Agarkar sahib and many popular writers of Marathi, or many poets, or even saints, who were Brahmins, have worked really very hard for this. We can say Ramdas swamy, Rishen??? Saraswati and many others, who were brahmins, worked very hard and established spirituality. For example we can say Tasghanu???? has said: Amazhi man ki brahman; Amhi Jaaneli nahin Brahma. Amhitasli Brahman. (They call us brahmin, but we do not know Brahma, then what kind of brahmins are we?) They awakened within us the awareness that until one doesn't know Brahma, he is not a brahmin. And they have tried every possible way to remove brahminism and caste consciousness, and remove all such things.

But now in the modern times I see that it is the brahmins who have become most modern. If you see a lady with a short haircut, wearing dark glasses and smoking a cigarette, suprisingly you find out that she is a brahmin. How this change has happened is beyond My understanding. but mostly it observed that these changes have come in them. Secondly, the other community which is called maratha, who no more carry swords, are now cutting each others throats (with words). Now what else to do with the swords? They think they once used to fight with swords for Shivaji Maharaj, and now we can use them to cut off each other’s throats. This is how it happened. And third thing is that there is no Vaishya community in Maharashtra, because they don't know how to do business. Being very outspoken, they cannot manage business at all.

So among whom should I establish spirituality, I don't understand. To whom can I ask to establish spirituality? Trying to eradicate caste and creed, to eradicate wrong ideals, is impossible; on the contrary they are going deeper into the mire. And nowadays, it has increased so much that none is able to understand that caste system is useless and this is only going to lead to destruction. And it is a myth. In this way, we should put our attention on these kinds of numerous trends that have started in Maharashtra. Although, the people here are simple and also innocent and their craving for wealth is very less, not a massive one. But, they have great faith in Shri Ganesha, which is a big thing. Because of this their moral values are still intact. This is a great asset for them, that they have a strong moral sense.

And only through those who have moral sense, the work can be done. In my opinion where there is no moral sense, the work happens rather slowly. But now My experience is that whether there is moral sense or not, unless people have depth, they cannot progress in Sahaja Yoga. So, here lots of people get Realisation. I go to many towns and villages, thousands get Realisation but they don't settle down. The main reason for this is that they haven't touched their depth. So today, whatever Puja we are doing, we must keep in mind that we should take Maharashtra's defects into consideration, while doing Sahaja Yoga work here. In this situation we should understand that every place has defects, no person is complete and perfect. Everyone has some shortcomings and in some cases the weaknesses could be also because they were ruled by outsiders - whatever. If you all work, by keeping in mind all the defects, then Sahaja Yoga can spread far and wide in these places, because whatever it is, saints have done a lot of work here.

Based on their foundation, today our work can get established. So, we are sitting under the blessings of Mumbai and along with this blessing, you are being showered by the blessings of the three Shaktis. And with the support of this blessing, Sahaja Yoga should spread very fast here. But it has been seen that those who are already in Sahaja Yoga are not giving their full support to Sahaja Yoga. In a way they escape their responsibility. If you try to escape from your responsibilities, then God will also escape from His responsibilities. The more effort you put in Sahaja Yoga, the more you are blessed. Because, I have already told you that now Kruta Yuga has started. Before this we could say that it was Kaliyuga. In Kaliyuga whatever mistakes you committed, were tolerated.

But now Kruta Yuga has begun. In Kruta Yuga whatever wrong things you do, the repercussions are immediate. And whatever good deeds you do, will be rewarded instantaneously. So, nowadays such circumstances are prevalent, I would say, are in the environment. Therefore a person who is doing wrong things should be on the watch. Because the repercussion is immediate. Those who do good deeds, will be rewarded immediately. That is the state now. So, we should reflect, that if we are living in Mumbai, we can do lot of work here. That is why I have worked so hard in Mumbai.

As a result so many of you are here. But, now you all should introspect, and see what you can do for Sahaja Yoga. Every night you sit and think: "What did we do for Sahaja Yoga? We do everything for us. What do we do for Sahaja Yoga?". Those who avoid working, will come and say: "Mother, we have got this disease and we have this trouble". it is bound to happen! Because if you avoid working for God, His attention will not be on you. Therefore if you want Paramchaitanya’s attention on you, you should always ask yourself what good deed have I done today? What did I do for Sahaja Yoga today?

With all our heart what did we talk about Sahaja Yoga today? It is only by this that you will get all blessings, and you will know that you are absolutely blessed people in Sahaja Yoga and that you are sitting in the kingdom of God. And just as in any other kingdom, if you do anything wrong, you get corrected and some punishment is inflicted upon you, same happens in God’s kingdom too. But some extra time is given here to see if you correct yourself. But instantly you get indications that you are doing wrong deeds because your vibrations will stop. That's why every step has to be taken very carefully and gently, and you have to go to a very high level because you know that it is important not only for the whole country but for the whole world it is necessary that Sahaja Yoga grows well in our Maharashtra. And from here the wealth of Sahaja Yoga should spread worldwide. And that is why I urge you again an again to make a pledge - because the New Year has started - that: "We will surrender ourselves to Sahaja Yoga completely, we will concentrate our minds towards our ascent, and we will handle it. This is for everyone, not only for Maharashtrians, but I am speaking to all the people of the world.

English Talk

I am sorry I had to talk in Hindi because most of them are Hindi-knowing people and I've just told them what is the importance of Bombay, and why so many incarnations came here, and why Shri Rama had to walk in the villages and the hills and dales of Maharashtra, what was the need, and the need is that they should all develop their Sahaja Yoga.

Also, this would be the last puja for all of you, in India. I hope you all have gained a lot in these different pujas and different places we have been to.

Only thing is that one should remember that Krita Yuga has started. Now Kali Yuga is over, Krita Yuga has started, and in this Yuga - that the Paramchaitanya is absolutely effective and very efficient.

Now if you do anything wrong, it will punish you. It may not punish immediately but it will give you a suggestion, it will give you a proper signal that something is going wrong with you. But if you do not try to control your footsteps then you may go down very fast. So, you have to be very careful about that. Actually, I have told you so many times that there are two forces working, one which attracts you inside and one which throws you out.

So, it is important for all of us, all of us to remember that this Krita Yuga is there, and in that this Paramchaitanya is overactive.

Also, you are rewarded. You have been telling me so many stories, how sahaj it worked out, how sahaj it has happened, all of you have been telling Me very nice stories. But it is part of your play in Sahaja Yoga and that you are placed in the kingdom of God.

So, in the kingdom of God you are there, try to enjoy it, that's the only thing you have to do is to enjoy the kingdom of God.

But if you try to, sort of, dislocate yourself from this joy, break the connection of joy by some sort of thinking, which is not reality, then you are responsible for yourself.

So, I have to tell you that keep the connection on. Not only that, but try to make it stronger and stronger, and become one with that divine force permanently, which will flow through you and will not only enlighten you but will give you so many powers, and you will see the new life in this new year.

Yesterday, as I requested you, we have to work it out now. Individually, we have to go all out to see that we spread Sahaja Yoga and talk about it.

On this day, I give you complete freedom to do what you like to spread Sahaja Yoga.

You need not ask Me any permissions, and you can try everything that you want to. But should be something decent, should not be something indecent and something which is not behoving a Sahaja Yogi. Even if you have to write letters or answers or anything, even if you have to show the anger, it should be done in a very decent and a beautiful manner. And it should show that it's a yogi who is talking.

The other things, whatever problems you have, will be solved in no time. But the main problem is yourself, which should be solved by you by meditative methods.

And so much attention we are paying to all our extra-curricular activities but that will definitely fail, it will boomerang on you if you do not have the foundation of Sahaja Yoga. It is very important to keep attention on your Spirit all the time so that whatever you are doing, whatever you are projecting, has the base and you just don't get lost.

This is a very important thing, and I am sure that you will understand that without the nourishment from the roots you cannot grow.

So this nourishment must be kept alive.

May God bless you. Thank you very much.